Denver Broncos / NFL

The 49ers don't have a problem with their quarterback using his mobility and agility to do some of the running himself. Above, Colin Kaepernick scrambles for yardage in the NFC championship game against Atlanta. (Chris Keane, Reuters)

In a year with a record number of 4,000-yard passers (11), when 20 players had at least 1,000 yards receiving and almost every team was talking about picking up the pace on offense to throw more often next season, Super Bowl XLVII shows you still need a running game.

The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers have shown it's a necessity.

That is no small item for the Broncos as they continue to nurse the bruises on their Super Bowl dreams the Ravens left behind. If the Broncos had been able to run the ball when they needed to, and when they wanted to, long before the third-and-7 play became an issue, long before the 70-yard shocker to Jacoby Jones, they would have been able to control the clock and protect Peyton Manning much better. And they could have avoided overtime.

Running the ball doesn't have to translate into the kind of play-calling that makes fans go berserk if their team doesn't win it all. A well-placed, well-designed run play, or three, can be an important part of an effective offense.

Want proof? Tune into the Super Bowl.

The 49ers finished the regular season fourth in the NFL in rushing and the Ravens were 11th. The Patriots, who lost to Baltimore on Sunday, were seventh.

Of the league's final four, only the Falcons didn't have a top 11 rushing attack. They were 29th. They also lost a 17-0 lead Sunday.

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In this postseason, both the 49ers and Ravens have run more times than they have passed and they haven't been labeled "ultraconservative" as they play for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco threw 93 passes combined in the team's three playoff victories, and the Ravens ran 104 times en route to scoring 24, 38 and 28 points.

Flacco threw eight touchdown passes without an interception in those three games as the Ravens consistently found a way to do what is difficult in the NFL — run with success in the scoring zone.

The Ravens ran for 170, 155 and 121 yards in their three playoff victories, including against the Broncos' No. 4-ranked rushing defense and a Patriots run defense ranked No. 9.

And the 49ers? They are the power brokers in the run game in these pass-happy times. They ran for 323 and 149 yards in their two playoff victories — and a staggering 6.6 yards per carry. They ran the ball 20 more times than they threw it on the way to the Super Bowl.

Their offensive line is huge, averaging just over 6-foot-4 and 317 pounds. They are committed to the run, often using formations with six linemen to go with two or three tight ends when they really want to show intent. They have three of their own first-round picks in their offensive front, to go with another player they signed as an undrafted rookie. That's a homegrown approach, with premium draft picks, with a disregard to the constant call to take players at skill positions early in the draft and somehow fill in the rest later.

The 49ers' run game isn't simple. It is more dynamic now with Colin Kaepernick at quarterback. The 49ers can run the read-option, run out of a traditional I formation, run out of a pro set with split backs, run wide and run inside.

And in a season when quarterbacks, receivers and offensive play-callers did so much through the air, don't be surprised if this Super Bowl is decided by what a team does on the ground.

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